Science Education Idea Exchange

Photo by Trnava University on Unsplash This week's freebie is from a newer TPT author named Hannah Carroll . They created a Google Form that provides examples of experiments. The student identifies the dependent and independent variables and other parts of an experiment . It can be downloaded to your Drive here . What I love about it: You can modify it to your needs The answer key is built-in Great examples for a quick check

One tool that offers a free introduction to try is Educreations . It allows you to create and share videos with your students. It is user-friendly and now has the capability to be shared on Google Classroom and Remind. This is especially ideal for a flipped and self-paced classrooms, as well as distance learning. The drawback is there is not too much storage on the free version, maybe a couple videos at most.

I am kind of obsessed with this and wanted to share more resources and places to get you started, if you're interested. I have made a few more templates that can be downloaded from my TPT store by clicking here . I'll admit, they are nothing like the resources you can find created by other people. Please follow me and leave honest feedback, if you do. :) As for other resources, I found a Facebook group called Bitmoji Craze for Educators . There are many ideas shared and some free templates and how-to instructions. Check it out!

Bitmoji Classroom is a newer phenomenon that teachers are sprucing up materials they share with their students. It utilizes Google Classroom and Google Slides. The video below is a great tutorial on how to make one and he includes free templates. I have made one for an art teacher friend and it is available for free on my Teachers Pay Teachers site. A preview is below.

Wizer.Me  is a free resource for teachers to create their own worksheets and share them with students, either on Google Classroom or by a link with a code. There are several worksheets created by other teachers that you can duplicate. The worksheets can have matching, tables, multiple-choice questions just to name a few. (Think of it as a prettier Google Form.) It will even grade the worksheet for you!

Just a quick and simple tutorial on how to put a table of contents into your Google Docs that has links to leap to sections. 1. Under "Insert", click "Table of contents" and choose the option with the blue lines if you want links or the option on the left if you want a table of contents with page numbers only. 2. To create headings that will appear in the table of contents, click on "Normal Text" and choose heading 1. If you want subheadings, choose heading 2. 3. After you have created your headings, you will need to refresh the table of contents. Unforunately, you do need to update it every time.

I think Jamboard might be my favorite collaborative response tool. It was created by Google, so if your students use Google Classroom, it has many features they are familiar with already. In real-time, groups of students/teachers can edit a screen. You can add text, pictures, and scribbles. Once the group is done, the board can be saved and downloaded. I used this to generate class ideas and would project it on the board as students were working. With distance learning, this could be a useful tool for students to outline a project plan of attack. I have not figured out a way to track who creates what. I wish there was an edit history like Docs, Sheets, and Slides, but there is not. If you have found either of these things, please let me know.

Padlet  is a free online resource that students can post answers, links, and pictures to a teacher-created question. The teacher creates the Padlet by choosing a background, choosing a posting format, and writing the topic for students. When the Padlet is ready, it can be shared with students on Google Classroom or by providing the link. Some things to be aware of: posts are anonymous, so students may get into mischief the number of Padlets on the free account is limited Since it's real-time editing, it may be overwhelming for some students to view

I recently learned about this free online tool called " Boom Cards ". They are interactive questions for students about whatever topic you'd like. I have an example below created by another author. By Ratelis Science The questions are sorting and matching. You can make your own or find pre-created ones. In some cases, you can find free sets to use. Better still, you can assign it to students on Google Classroom. (In some ways, this reminds me of Quizlet.) Just another amazing and free online tool!

I used this to create class projects that students are assigned different pieces of a larger topic. This is an easy way to share out what they have found. It can easily be adapted to PowerPoint as well. I have a quick video with an example below.

Summary: Create videos that students watch and are asked questions as they view the video. Advantages:  EdPuzzle communicates with Google Classroom and can be assigned to students through it.  Students can watch videos at their own pace.  The video will pause if the students click off the screen. There are several videos already created by other teachers that you can modify and save to fit your needs. Helps with e-Learning since you can create an interactive lesson for your students. Collaborating with other teachers in your building is easy. Disadvantages: I have not figured out how to record their scores for the videos, if that is something you are interested in. Use: 1. Create your account and search for videos on whatever topic you're interested in. (You can also upload your own video to start from scratch.) 2. When you select a video, you have the option to edit, copy, assign, or share. Editing- allows you to modify the video to your needs ...

If you have not heard of Screencastify, you're in for a treat! Summary : Screencastify allows to record your voice, computer screen, and face while making free videos that upload to your Google Drive. You can add it to your Google Chrome by searching the App Store. There's a little bit of set-up before your initial use. Go through step-by-step to get started. Use: You can jump past the first minute if you do not need help going through the permissions.

As mentioned in a  previous post, I love making breakout /puzzle/escape rooms.  I have an example here that you can make a copy of and change, if you'd like. Here's how you can make a digital breakout box using Google Forms: 1. Click on the cog in the upper right-hand corner. 2. Click the third tab labeled "Quizzes" and flip the slider to the right to "make this a quiz" and click save. 3. Title your Form. 4. Create your first question by typing "3 Digit Code". It should change it to a "short answer" question, but if it does not, choose that option from the drop down menu. Make this a "required" question by moving the slider to the right. 5. From the three dots at the bottom right hand corner, select "description" and "response validation". 6. In the description box, provide instructions to how the answer should be typed. 7. Under the "response validation", ...

Quizziz  is another free teacher resource for review. It's great because it has a bank of questions written by other teachers that you can tap into. I created many review games for students and posted them on Google Classroom within minutes. There are three ways to run Quizziz that your students will enjoy, two that can be completed individually and one as a class. To "Play Live" means that you display a code and your students compete against each other while they are seated together. Unlike Kahoot, you do not have to wait until everyone is logged in to begin. It rates students individually on speed and accuracy as they complete the game. "Assign HW" is what you will want to choose to place it on your Google Classroom for students to complete individually. After you choose "Assign HW', you will see the following screen below. 1. Choose a date far enough in the future to allow students to complete the Quizziz. I usually gave them this as...